Surprise, surprise. A COVID variant, against which vaccines are much less effective and that is highly transmissible, is spreading rapidly through the places that have lots of people. And yet some have claimed that, due to this, the Republican death cult has never existed, and that COVID infection numbers are merely “seasonal.” (”There was never a Republican death cult,” by Rich Lowry, Tribune, Dec. 27.)
This is blatantly incorrect. Omicron is resistant to our current vaccines, and especially so without a booster shot — a booster that millions of Americans are not yet eligible for. Is it surprising in the slightest that cities, which tend to be Democratic, have seen the greatest spread so far? Is it surprising that the more people live in an area, the faster a highly infectious, airborne, vaccine-resistant virus spreads? Some people seem to think so, apparently.
Fortunately, thanks to scientists, researchers, shippers and countless others, we managed to get multiple safe and effective vaccines available for use by the public. And thanks to the tremendous logistical capability of the U.S. government, anyone could (and still can) get their vaccine for free. And as a result, the cities tamed the pandemic.
But as Democratic areas succeeded in quelling their pandemic, Republican areas failed in quelling another threat – growing anti-vaccination sentiment. When then-President Donald Trump refused to acknowledge the pandemic or encourage measures such as mask-wearing that would prevent the spread of the pandemic, these anti-safety attitudes became dogma for many rank-and-file Trump supporters.
And when Joe Biden won the presidency and turned his focus to getting shots in arms, that dogma was easily extended to vaccines. Conspiracy theories, disinformation and apathy about a disease that has killed millions of people all became commonplace.
Many Republican leaders have failed to condemn this and have not encouraged people to get vaccinated, including, for a time, Trump. Many top Republicans didn’t want to; it was easier and more politically beneficial to side with the extremists who show fanatical support to politicians they like. And when Trump finally did encourage vaccination, these people widely condemned him.
Even the leader couldn’t control the cult he created.
This is because the conspiracy theories and disinformation have become a test of ideological purity for Republicans. Those who fail are deemed “RINOs,” or Republicans in Name Only, because branding them as such is another easy way to prove loyalty to the group.
Let me repeat that: The Republican Party has come to be defined on the refusal to accept a life-saving vaccine because of their dogmatic support for Donald Trump – support which eventually grew beyond him, but which sprung from the culture that he fostered. A culture of conspiracy theories, of purity tests, of extremism and, primarily, a culture of unconditional, unquestioning support for “MAGA world” and unrivaled loathing for its detractors.
The Republican Party is defined on dogma that includes refusing to accept a free, lifesaving vaccination, dogma which must be obeyed, or one will be kicked out of the group. I fail to see how it differs from a death cult.
Atticus Teter
Atticus Teter is a student at West High School in Salt Lake City.